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Practising Certificates

Registered midwives are legally required to hold a practising certificate issued by the Midwifery Council. An application for a practising certificate must be made on the correct form and be paid for in full. The Council facilitates the renewal of practising certificates by posting out renewal forms to all midwives holding current practising certificates before the end of each practising year. There are a number of processes that must be completed before a practising certificate can be granted and this takes time. If we receive your completed application and payment by the date specified in the notes that accompany the renewal form, then we guarantee that your practising certificate card will be received by the start of the new year.

Notes for all midwives:

All annual practising certificates expire on 31 March.
A practising certificate is required even if you work part time or intermittently.
If you commence work part way through the year, a discounted fee is payable. (If you are using an old form to apply please check that you are using the correct fee.)
There is no refund if you stop work part way through the year.
The workforce survey questions are part of the application and should not be separated.
It is illegal to work as a midwife without a practising certificate and significant penalties apply (administered by the Ministry of Health).
If you do not have a current practising certificate you cannot work as a midwife, you cannot claim maternity fees and you will not have any indemnity cover.
Take care of your practising certificate; it is valuable. It can be used to obtain controlled drugs as well as order tests and claim fees. If it is stolen or lost please notify the Police and contact the Deputy Registrar immediately.

If you hold a practising certificate but did not receive a renewal form in February:

Perhaps you have not told us your change of address? If your address has changed, as a first step try to recover the form from your old address. The forms in the bulk mail out are encoded which speeds up processing. Please advise the Council of any change of address. If the original form cannot be recovered contact the Council to request another.

The Council does its best to facilitate this process but it is your responsibility to ensure that you hold a current practising certificate. If you have not received your renewal forms by mid February you should contact the Council without delay. You can call 04 499 5040 or email to info@midwiferycouncil.org.nz .

If you have not practised in the current year but wish to return to practise:

If you have practised midwifery at some time during the past three years and can declare that you are competent to practise you can make a normal application You can apply at the beginning of the year or any time during the year. Allow a minimum of ten working days between sending in the application and actually receiving your practising certificate card.

If you have not practised midwifery during the last three years or are not able to make the necessary declarations, you will need to make a Return to Practise application. Information about the Return to Practise programme is available on the Return to Practise page. Contact the Council for the appropriate form. Return to practise applications are considered by a Council committee that meets at the beginning of each month (but not in January).

If you don't intend to practise next year:

You do not need to pay for a practising certificate for that year.
You should inform the Council that you will not be practising by completing the Non-Practising Declaration included with the renewal forms.
You may pay the "active non-practising" fee so that you will continue to receive all newsletters and consultation documents. This option is included on the Non-Practising Declaration form.
Please complete and return the workforce survey section of the renewal form.
You remain on the Midwifery Register so please continue to advise changes of address - you are legally required to do so.

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There is information on other pages relevant to practising certificates. Click on the item to go to that page.

The Recertification programme - maintaining competence.
Going overseas.
Returning from overseas.
Interim practising certificates for overseas qualified midwifes.
Return to Practice - obtaining a practising certificate if you have not worked as a midwife for more than three years.